<p>Thanks for your reply EconomistAddict. I’m going to talk to my career and academic advisors about this and would love to hear some other perspectives on this. If you got in to a great MA program, did you feel coursework in math was a factor? I’m still on the fence on whether I should take calculus in the fall (my last semester) or spend my time in another way. Any feedback on the matter would be appreciated. But thanks again for your advice, it was very helpful.</p>
<p>Jhpigott- Yes, you have an unusual profile. I have heard of lawyers going back for their MA, but not one with 8 years of experience. Nothing you stated is deleterious to your app. I would be slightly surprised if you didn’t get into all of them. You have nothing to worry about. My only qualification is that there is no apparent long-standing demonstrated interest, but maybe you didn’t mention something; however you do have the qualifications in education and work experience. </p>
<p>JFactor10- Econ, especially micro and corp fin (and the more advanced courses in each), are math intensive. Nothing else really is. I took math for a year in college (Advanced Stats and Calc II) but that was freshman year and I didn’t bother with it afterwards. None of the poli sci classes are math intensive (in my experience) if you didn’t want them to be. I echo what I said before: Take it if you want to, and only if you truly want to. Otherwise, you won’t like the last semester of college, and that’s not a good way to go out.</p>
<p>EconAddict - Thank you for the feedback. As for demonstrating long-term interest, I’m hoping my writing sample and SOP illustrate adequately my grasp of security related issues and analysis thereof such that it can not be written off as passing fancy. Likewise, I’m hopeful the fact that someone within the intelligence community took some interest in me right out of law school will reflect well on my admission prospects.</p>
<p>Actually heading up to DC this weekend to visit GT, GWU and AU. Should be interesting.</p>
<p>I am also looking at applying to the different IR schools, but am planning on applying for an MPA rather than an MIA. I am looking at applying to SIPA, Georgetown, Princeton, and JH. But, out of these schools, the one I really want to go to is SIPA, mainly due to the fact that thanks to SIPA my family was able to get out of the poverty that we were in (this was quite some time ago) after the collapse of the USSR. </p>
<p>Anyway, I currently a 3rd year Int’l student studying in Canada, am going to get a BCOM (Bachelor of Commerce) with a specialization in Finance. Currently my overall GPA is like a 3.45, while my Major GPA (this one does not include my 4 Computer Science electives that I took, of which I failed 1) is around 3.8. I am fluent in 3 languages, and can understand and speak a 4th language at a fairly basic level. I also (at the time of application) will have had 1.5 years of Research experience, and a year of TA’ing. I have also interned at 3 different organizations (one of them being UNDP at my home country), and will have around a years worth of internship/work experience at the time of application. I am also very involved in my campus and have been an executive at 5 different clubs (but as far as I am aware grad schools dont care about this).</p>
<p>Given my lack of work experience, and the fact that I failed one course, do I still have some chance of getting into these top programs, specifically SIPA? I want to go to SIPA specifically because of what I mentioned earlier, and I know for a fact that it can open up a lot of doors (it did for my dad). I truly want to work for companies such as the World Bank, AfDB, ADB and etc and work on economic policy and financial assistance projects. I know several people who work in these fields, and what they do is simply amazing and is work where one can truly say that they are making a difference.</p>
<p>Thank You!</p>
<p>Jahdude- </p>
<p>Before I get started:
- Johns Hopkins offers an MPP but not through SAIS
- Georgetown does offer an MPA, but not through the School of Foreign Service
The perks of SFS and SAIS typically do not extend to JHU’s or GT’s wider community.</p>
<p>And if you want the MPA, Syracuse’s program is nothing less than amazing. </p>
<p>And in no particular order:
If you want to work abroad in economic development, I urge you to consider IR MA programs in addition to MPA/MPP programs. </p>
<p>Out of college, for IR, you’re a better match for the more practitioner-oriented programs (ie Georgetown and JHU) as opposed to the more academically oriented SIPA and Princeton. The students at SIPA and Princeton tend to be a bit older. You should definitely try for SIPA if you want it. </p>
<p>Anecdotal evidence suggests SIPA pays more attention to the vagaries of your transcript than the others, which (like me) is your weak point. You seem to have a clear vision of your goal and decent experience, given your age. </p>
<p>Do not sell your club leadership positions short. You got more experience from that than you think. </p>
<p>Take a look at LinkedIn. See who you know (or your parents know). Look at their career paths. Ask those who impress you about what they did for their first steps. Your father’s path was just one of many possible paths. Explore them all, something may surprise you. </p>
<p>Also, I assume your current program is 4 years. You have, relatively speaking, lots of time. Do not think SIPA is the be-all, end-all.</p>
<p>Thank you so much for your reply! Yes my current program is a 4 year program, and I will start applying to graduate schools in around 8-10 months. Still have to take the GRE, but I am not too worried about that (yet).</p>
<p>As for JHU and Georgetown, I never knew that. Thank you for pointing that out. I still have not started doing all of the research given that I do have some time (will do most of it during the summer). As for the club positions, one does get something out of it, I just dont know if they will care much. But, either way, I will mention all of them given that it can never hurt. And hey, maybe I am undervaluing what I got out of it. Looking at the average age of the of the individuals at some of the IR schools, they are all in the 25-27 range, so me being only 21 when applying (and 22 when I start attending, if I get in that is) sounds kind of scary to me, both in the sense that I feel like I may have trouble interacting with a group of people so much older than myself, but also because I am starting to doubt my chances of getting in at that age w/o any decent experience. But I guess only time will tell.</p>
<p>As for my father, his path was very different, the only part of it that I do want to take is the job that he does now. As for SIPA, its a school that I have wanted to attend since middle school. And I do have some…I guess “loyalty” or “indebtedness” towards the school, due to what it was able to do for my family (long story short, fall of soviet union->economic issues->savings devalued->poorly paid job and etc, but SIPA was able to provide a full ride+housing+food+plane tickets) so I do want to be a part of that Alumni Network, and in the future contribute to it. But I agree, it is not be-all, end-all, there are other schools of equal quality.</p>
<p>That is great advice! I will ask some of the people that work with my father about how they got there. </p>
<p>I guess I will just keep trying the best I can to get my overall GPA up to a decent level, and try to ace the GRE. Hopefully those two will slightly make up for my young age and lack of work experience. BTW, do IR schools (in general, I am sure it varies from institution to institution) look at the overall GPA, the last 2 years, the Major GPA or…well whatever else they might be able to look at?</p>
<p>Thank you for your help EconomicAddict!</p>
<p>For your GPA, it varies. They do look at the overall GPA. However: that doesn’t mean they ignore everything else. They will look at your transcript and will note what you did well in and what you didn’t. The more econ inclined of them will take a look at your grades for quant classes (comp sci does count towards that) and your GRE quant score. They won’t do a GPA calculation probably, but they will get a sense that “in quant classes, he’s sort of erratic. Is he really ready?” </p>
<p>For you still being in school, this will be your weak point. There is no time for you to distance yourself from those quant grades. If you do well on the GRE, you appear to be not expending effort in those classes (regardless of whether that was true or not). If you do not do well, you appear to be ill-equipped. </p>
<p>Looking far ahead, do not apologize for it (I would acknowledge it very briefly), as otherwise your grades are very good.</p>
<p>Ah ok understood. Yeah I wont apologize for them at all. Although its odd that the CS courses are considered as quant given that the only thing I have done in them is coding (except in one course where it was a Boolean logic course, I did fine on that one). As for my quantitative courses, I have taken both differential and integral calculus (did well on differential, decent on Integral - it was first year and the class was at 8 so I never went to the class, feel like an idiot for dong that now), Micro and Macro Econ, 2 more advanced Business based Econ courses (well they were offered by the business faculty but were, at the end of the day Econ), Intro to Statistics, and so far 4 Finance courses (will take 2 more next school year). </p>
<p>The only reason I did poorly on CS courses was because I just cant program. I get all the concepts and could answer the concept stuff, but I could never actually program in practice (or that well, I am decent in Java and SQL but terrible at C++, the C++ course was the one I failed), my brain just did not work that way, but I kept taking them thinking that something may click one day and I finally get good at it (like Econ, once it clicks, Econ is actually extremely easy).</p>
<p>The other thing is (and I doubt they will take this into account/care) is that average GPA at my University in Canada are around 2.9ish, with the engineering average being 2.7. This is a bit lower than the average GPA at private US schools of 3.3. Would these differences ever be taken into account? Around 25-30% of the students get an A-/A grade, as opposed to the 40% or so I have seen at some other US institutions. My school is not even the harshest one, UofT is known to kill the grades of students. My school is a bit nicer then them, although 1st and to a lesser extent 2nd year, it tries to weed out the weak students (it is a Public school, after all).</p>
<p>Anyways, guess I’ll just study like hell for the GRE to get 800 on the quant section (had 800 on SAT Math section, and 750+ on both SAT Math1 and Math2, dont remember exact numbers) and take a few Economics courses in order to make the admissions committee realize that I can handle Economics courses. </p>
<p>Thanks again for your help, this is really opening up my eyes on as to what courses I can take to minimize the blow from my 4 CS electives!</p>
<p>I am applying to graduate school for a Masters in International Affairs, focusing on international development and I was wondering if I can get some advice. I graduated from an alright liberal arts college in New England, with a cumulative 3.37 GPA and a 3.83 in my major, international studies. My GRE score is 690 Verbal/710 Analytical with a 5.0 for the Essay. As an undergraduate I studied abroad in China and did ethnographic research there for a summer. I also studied and interned in Washington DC, working with an NGO focused on humanitarian aid to South East Asia. I am currently a Peace Corps Volunteer in the TEFL sector, serving in the Caucuses. </p>
<p>I think my primary focus in terms of international development would either be education or working to promote democratic values/human rights. I dont know what kind of regional focus I might have, but my past experience is in Eastern Asia. So far the Josef Korbel School is on the top of my list, just because as a Peace Corps Fellows school I can graduate in a little over a year; however, I might as well apply to a few other schools. Im thinking of applying to Georgetown and American. Fletcher is an outstanding school, but it probably doesnt have the access to government, NGOs, development banks, etc. that Georgetown and American have. Are there any other strong international development programs I should keep my eye out for?</p>
<p>Also, what are my chances of getting into Josef Korbel, Georgetown, or American? My undergraduate education and professional background is pretty strongly related to international affairs, and I hope that being a Peace Corps Volunteer would be a boon. I can get pretty strong letters of recommendations too.</p>
<p>Hi, does anyone know about the reputation of Boston University’s department of International Relations?</p>
<p>SanEou.Lan- You will get into one of the three. I would bet money on it. They are all amazing programs. The only thing that I would worry about (particularly with GT) is the lowish GPA. What were the grades bad in? If the worse grades were in more quantitative courses, then admission to GT will be a bit more difficult, but not impossible. All three named, of course, are very good without question. IR programs seem to be less focused on the numbers than B-School or law school, and admission rates for the top 3 programs are still relatively high (30-40%). </p>
<p>As for strong IR programs in DC, the 4 big ones are GT, American, George Washington (Elliott) and Johns Hopkins (SAIS). Any of the four are very good for what you want to do. American and GW are more qualitative. GT and SAIS are more quantitative. But with the second pair, you can make it very qualitative outside of the econ requirements. </p>
<p>On a personal note, the Caucasus is amazing. I went hiking in Xinaliq, Azerbaijan, then in Kazbegi, Georgia (never ate so much food or drank so much wine in my life before or since), then in Stepanakert, Nagorno-Karabakh, 5 almost 6 years ago.</p>
<p>lr1107- BU is still making a name for itself, but probably good (if the BU reputation is true to form). If you want an established reputation, look at the full members of APSIA (not the affiliates) for a schools with well-established reputations. ([Member</a> Schools](<a href=“http://www.apsia.org/apsia/members/allMembers.php?section=member]Member”>Members of the Association of Professional Schools of International Affairs))</p>
<p>I recently got the news that I’ve been accepted fot the Masters in International Affairs at NYU as well as the MA Goverment0 Conflict Resolution at Georgetown College. </p>
<p>Firstly, I’ve only just realized after reading the forums that I didn’t apply (out of ignorance) to SFS and instead applied to Georgetown College, despite the fact that I want to pursue International Affairs. My only excuse is that I’m an international applicant, and thus not as well versed in the major US universities. That unpleasant surprise aside (I gather that SFS is far better than the Dept of Government), I’ve gotten into the programme of my choice at NYU. </p>
<p>I realize that GT is supposed to be much better but my reservation are: I really want to study in New York, having visited the city, well, yes I just really want to live there : ) Second, I have the programme of my choice at NYU. However, DC is only a cheap and short bus ride away. </p>
<p>Any pointers/ other pros-cons? </p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>SIPA or SAIS</p>
<p>I got admitted to both SIPA and SAIs, and now I’m having a very tough time deciding where to go. I would really appreciate it if anyone could give a clue or two. </p>
<p>I’m an international student, from Indonesia. I’m with the ministry of foreign affairs, spent some time in geneva and the hague. I’m going on a full free ride so financial matter wont be a factor in deciding (which makes it harder to decide). I am passionate about finance and international economics. Even though I know that I will be pursuing my career in the minstry if foreign affairs it would be nice if I have options to join the international organizations (i really love to be in the WTO, or other IO’s) </p>
<p>I have been consulting with a lot of people, my former professors, my supervisors at work, my senior who is currently studying in SIPA, my senior who is currently studying in SAIS, my friends, and etc. But still I cannot decide. Both schools are actually evening out each other. </p>
<p>Your helps are already deeply appreciated.</p>
<p>I am pretty much interested in doing solar panel courses for my living. I want to make this as a career as I want to get attached to environment. I heard about solar panels installations at different part of the cities of New York. What do you think of becoming a solar panel guy.</p>
<p>About potential workers being turned away because of their parents’ ethnicitiy(ies), will having Cuban born parents be detrimental to an IR career? My mom was born in Cuba in 1970 but left in '71, and I’m not sure about my dad. But they’re definitely not communists/Castro supporters.</p>
<p>I have a soft spot in my heart for Fletcher, they’ve offered me some money, and they’ve been very helpful. However, every alum I’ve talked to from DC schools talks about DC and what they got out of being there at least as much as they talk about the school. As a career changer, I’m looking forward to spending these two years exploring career options through internships and site visits. Is the DC location worth spending $30,000 more on an MA in IR? I also got into SFS, which would be basically the same cost as SAIS.</p>
<p>First, thanks to everyone for their input and information. This has been very helpful.</p>
<p>I’m a recently graduated senior from Fordham, majoring in International Studies (4.00) and Political Science (3.91), with honors in both, and minoring in International Humanitarian Affairs. My cumulative GPA is 3.84. I have a fluent knowledge of Mandarin Chinese, and basic French. I have also done internships at the following: 2 NGOs, 2 diplomatic missions, plus an organizing committee position on a UN conference. In addition, I did 2 years of military service as a reporter.</p>
<p>I’m giving serious consideration to the following programs in IR with an intention to matriculate in fall 2013 (I’m taking a gap year): Georgetown, Princeton, Fletcher, SAIS, as well as King’s and Cambridge in the UK. </p>
<p>I am concerned that my internships and experience would make me seem like an unfocused applicant. My questions for you all, therefore, are: (1) if there is anything that you would suggest for me to do in order to enhance my applications, and more broadly (2) what my chances are for the programs I listed (and funding).</p>
<p>Thanks for your help in advance.</p>
<p>Hey everyone! I’ve really enjoyed reading through all your comments, and I would really appreciate some feedback.</p>
<p>I’m currently a rising college senior at GW’s Elliott School of International Affairs, and I am planning to start applying to graduate schools in August. My top preferences are Johns Hopkins SAIS, Columbia SIPA, and Princeton Woodrow Wilson. I would like to do a program in international development, preferably with a focus on Africa. I’m wondering what my chances are of being admitted into these schools straight out of college. Any input would be great! Here’s my background:</p>
<p>Major: International Affairs, Concentration in International Development
Minor: Economics
GPA: 3.61
Honors Program
GRE: Verbal 166, Quantitative 166 (V 700, Q 800 on old scale)
Studied abroad at Sciences Po in Strasbourg, France
Internships: State Department (Bureau of African Affairs), Council of Europe (in Strasbourg), The Advisory Board Company (tech/consulting firm), HIV/AIDS educator in Ghana
Research: Won university research fellowship, conducted independent research on the effectiveness of foreign aid in Ghana
Fluent in French</p>
<p>Thanks very much for your help!</p>
<p>Honestly, you’re chances are average at, best. Your GPA is strong but not stellar, and your internships are pretty much what is expected of most undergrads these days. You have no real work experience, which can be hugely detrimental for top programs. </p>
<p>I highly, HIGHLY advise you to take 2-3 years off before applying. I cannot stress this enough. I’ve had professors who felt so strongly about this when I was going to apply that they told me they would not write me a letter of rec unless I worked first, because it was that crucial to enhancing my grad school experience (and for what it’s worth, I did take their advice, using those years for language immersion, working at a Fortune 100 company, and researching with one of the most famous foreign policy leaders in US history – see how this was useful?).</p>
<p>You’ll need to realize that most – the VAST majority – of your peers will be coming in with work experience. This is particularly true for top programs, most of which you list. From my discussions with MA/MPP candidates (and I’ve had several), they convey a sense of skepticism toward the opinions of classmates who come straight from undergrad, as they have no non-internship work experience to rely on. Statistically, students who take time off are also far more successful academically in graduate school. One of my best friends just graduated from HKS after going straight into Harvard from undergrad, and says it was a “huge mistake.” Why? Her classmates had worked in Afghanistan, earned Fulbrights to Colombia, consulted for McKinsey & Co, and started NGOs in Africa. Those students added so much more value to class discussions than my friend could, even though she graduated at the top of her class from what is arguably the best public university in the country.</p>
<p>I don’t intend to discourage you mentally, as you will add substantial value to whatever university you attend. But I sincerely urge you to reevaluate your desire to go straight into grad school. TALK to your professors, and professionals you know who took time off. They will almost universally tell you they’re glad they did.</p>
<p>Hi everyone - I’ve really enjoyed reading this thread but now have some questions regarding my own experience.</p>
<p>I probably have more full-time work experience than the average applicant but it may not be the “right” experience (from what I can tell, based on reading about others’ experience here). Do you think I have any shot at a top school…could I spin my experience to be beneficial or would it be a detriment?</p>
<p>Degree: International Business from U of Texas at Austin
GPA: 3.35 (this is low but mostly driven by a foray into Pre-Med. I did much better in IR-relevant classes including quantitative ones like Micro, Macro, Stats, Calc ect.)
GRE: 162 - Quantitative; 165 - Verbal; 5 - Writing
International experience in college: Study abroad in Paris; internship at an international refugee organization (in Austin)
Language: French
Post - College experience: 3 years as a Financial Analyst for a shipping company (worked with operations in US but also China); 2 years in Pricing/Marketing for same shipping company but this job has a focus on Puerto Rico, the Dominican and includes work with many other Latin cultures.</p>
<p>In many ways, a degree in IR would be a “career change” which is what I’m looking for. This is private sector/corporate experience whereas it seems like most people here have public sector experience. Do I have a good chance…would they be accepting of a “career change” situation? Any schools in particular that would respond more favorably or not? </p>
<p>Thanks for any guidance you guys can provide!</p>